The present invention relates to a steering wheel for motor vehicles, with a horn switch disposed therein as well as with an air bag device that has a receiving chamber for receiving a gas generator as well as an air bag that is folded therein; the opening of the receiving chamber is closed off by a protective cover that has a predetermined breaking point and can be opened in the event of activation of the device by the inflating air bag.
An air bag device having such features is known in a particular construction from EP 0 586 055 A1. With this known construction, one or more horn switches are disposed between the steering wheel structure and the container with which the protective cover is connected. This known construction has the drawback that on the one hand in order to operate the horn the entire unit, comprising the protective cover and a container, must be pressed down, and on the other hand unfortunately the entire unit must be mounted in such a way as to be vibration free relative to the steering wheel structure, which necessitates appropriately strong horn springs that in turn themselves inherently have corresponding operating drawbacks because in general an easy actuation of the horn is desired.
It is therefore an objects of the present invention to provide an air bag device of the aforementioned general type that is easy to manufacture and to mount, while at the same time ensuring a reliable operation of the horn switch.